He claimed this is because TI had not taken into account the controversial ownership of public-listed shares by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki.

In a statement, Lim said the Cabinet must hold a special discussion over its decline in the CPI 2021 ranks to 62 out of 100, the lowest since the index’s methodology was revised in 2012.

“We are back on the slippery slope of corruption as before GE14 on May 9, 2018, and the worst is yet to come from the Azam share controversy and the worsening of the system of integrity in public life.

“Will heads roll as a result of Malaysia’s shocking performance in the CPI 2021? In other countries, its anti-corruption commission’s chief would have resigned, but not in Malaysia,” he said.

Lim added that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) hard work in addressing corruption to the point of improving Malaysia’s CPI rank to 51 in 2019 had been undone by its removal from Putrajaya in 2020.

Meanwhile, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the plunge in the CPI 2021 ranking was embarrassing, pointing out that the nation was last ranked 62 back in 2017.

Meanwhile, Amanah’s Faiz Fadzil said the decline in the CPI 2021 rankings showed that the “Malay-Muslim government” slogan was just political “opiate of the masses” while Islamic principles that stand against corruption were not upheld.

The Permatang Pasir assemblyman said the decline would affect the economy as it would deter investors.

“The economy will fail to fully recover as long as the government does not have the political will to combat corruption.

“Until then, the people will continue to suffer from various pressures, such as the rise in the price of goods and a deficit in buying power,” he said in a statement today.